young enough to be his daughter.”
“You two aren’t together at the moment though, are you?” I asked. It did get hard to keep track.
“No,” Gayle replied reluctantly. Usually when the two of them broke up, it was at her insistence, but the second Duke showed an interest in any other woman, they would find a way to make it up.
“And didn’t I catch you coming out of the men’s locker room the other day, closely followed by that tall kid who started training here recently? He can’t be older than twenty.”
“Nineteen,” Gayle said with a smile. “And very enthusiastic.”
I grimaced. If Duke was the closest thing I had to a father, then Gayle was the closest thing I had to a mother. I didn’t want to hear this.
“You’re both as bad as each other,” I pointed out. “Stop worrying. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Gayle walked off and left me to my work out, but she kept conveniently finding reasons to walk back into the gym, and every time she did so, she glared at Duke’s office.
The conversation in there was getting more and more animated. The two of them seemed to be getting on well, which meant Nora was probably not someone he’d hooked up with. That came as a huge relief.
After fifteen minutes, Gayle came up to me again while I was in the middle of some bicep curls. I tried to finish my set, but I caught the look on Gayle’s face in the mirror and decided it might be a good idea to put the weights down.
“I need to speak to Duke,” Gayle said.
“Then go knock on the door.”
“You do it. It’ll look suspicious if I do.”
I sighed, but agreed to walk over and interrupt Duke’s conversation. It’s not like I’d be able to get anything else done with Gayle in this mood, and I was curious myself.
“What do you want to speak to him about?” I asked Gayle, knowing full well she didn’t need to speak to him at all.
“Just get him out of that fucking office,” Gayle replied, with her usual level of tact.
I smiled and walked over to Duke’s office. The conversation was muffled, but it sounded like they were talking about a mutual friend. Duke didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so this couldn’t be a niece of his. So how did he know her?
I knocked on the door, but opened it without waiting for a response. “I need your opinion on what to teach in today’s class,” I said to Duke, doing my best to pretend there wasn’t a stunning girl I’d fucked a few days ago sat on the other side of his desk.
“No you don’t,” he replied. “You just want to know what’s going on. And I bet Gayle sent you.”
Duke shouted Gayle’s name and a few seconds later she appeared next to me in the doorway. Her eyes immediately went to the girl sat at the desk, but she did her best to look surprised to see her. I doubt she had Duke fooled though.
“What is it?” Gayle asked casually.
“I won’t be able to keep this a secret for much longer,” Duke began.
“If you’ve got her pregnant,” Gayle yelled, forgetting she was trying to appear calm, “I’m going to make sure you’re dead before the baby’s born.”
Duke turned to face the girl. “Gayle’s not always like this,” Duke said to her. “Sometimes she gets really angry.”
“What’s going on, Duke?” I asked. I wanted to know almost as much as Gayle did now.
“Riker, Gayle, meet Nora Delmonico. My daughter.”
Riker had been a complete jerk the other night, but at least he’d been friendly. Kind of.
Now he was positively cold around me. I’d expected Duke to be the one not taking the news well, but Riker and Gayle looked far less accepting of me than he had.
Duke and I had chatted for a bit about Mom, and I’d told him stories about what it had been like growing up with her. To Duke’s credit, he did genuinely seem to care about her, and there were traces of sadness in his voice, even though he hadn’t seen her in over twenty years. She’d left her mark on
“You two aren’t together at the moment though, are you?” I asked. It did get hard to keep track.
“No,” Gayle replied reluctantly. Usually when the two of them broke up, it was at her insistence, but the second Duke showed an interest in any other woman, they would find a way to make it up.
“And didn’t I catch you coming out of the men’s locker room the other day, closely followed by that tall kid who started training here recently? He can’t be older than twenty.”
“Nineteen,” Gayle said with a smile. “And very enthusiastic.”
I grimaced. If Duke was the closest thing I had to a father, then Gayle was the closest thing I had to a mother. I didn’t want to hear this.
“You’re both as bad as each other,” I pointed out. “Stop worrying. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Gayle walked off and left me to my work out, but she kept conveniently finding reasons to walk back into the gym, and every time she did so, she glared at Duke’s office.
The conversation in there was getting more and more animated. The two of them seemed to be getting on well, which meant Nora was probably not someone he’d hooked up with. That came as a huge relief.
After fifteen minutes, Gayle came up to me again while I was in the middle of some bicep curls. I tried to finish my set, but I caught the look on Gayle’s face in the mirror and decided it might be a good idea to put the weights down.
“I need to speak to Duke,” Gayle said.
“Then go knock on the door.”
“You do it. It’ll look suspicious if I do.”
I sighed, but agreed to walk over and interrupt Duke’s conversation. It’s not like I’d be able to get anything else done with Gayle in this mood, and I was curious myself.
“What do you want to speak to him about?” I asked Gayle, knowing full well she didn’t need to speak to him at all.
“Just get him out of that fucking office,” Gayle replied, with her usual level of tact.
I smiled and walked over to Duke’s office. The conversation was muffled, but it sounded like they were talking about a mutual friend. Duke didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so this couldn’t be a niece of his. So how did he know her?
I knocked on the door, but opened it without waiting for a response. “I need your opinion on what to teach in today’s class,” I said to Duke, doing my best to pretend there wasn’t a stunning girl I’d fucked a few days ago sat on the other side of his desk.
“No you don’t,” he replied. “You just want to know what’s going on. And I bet Gayle sent you.”
Duke shouted Gayle’s name and a few seconds later she appeared next to me in the doorway. Her eyes immediately went to the girl sat at the desk, but she did her best to look surprised to see her. I doubt she had Duke fooled though.
“What is it?” Gayle asked casually.
“I won’t be able to keep this a secret for much longer,” Duke began.
“If you’ve got her pregnant,” Gayle yelled, forgetting she was trying to appear calm, “I’m going to make sure you’re dead before the baby’s born.”
Duke turned to face the girl. “Gayle’s not always like this,” Duke said to her. “Sometimes she gets really angry.”
“What’s going on, Duke?” I asked. I wanted to know almost as much as Gayle did now.
“Riker, Gayle, meet Nora Delmonico. My daughter.”
Riker had been a complete jerk the other night, but at least he’d been friendly. Kind of.
Now he was positively cold around me. I’d expected Duke to be the one not taking the news well, but Riker and Gayle looked far less accepting of me than he had.
Duke and I had chatted for a bit about Mom, and I’d told him stories about what it had been like growing up with her. To Duke’s credit, he did genuinely seem to care about her, and there were traces of sadness in his voice, even though he hadn’t seen her in over twenty years. She’d left her mark on
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